I Need You to Love Me
by 11June11
Summary: AU/AH. Slave Edward is desperately in love with his princess, Bella. With a prompt from his brother, Emmett, he sets out to make her fall in love with him, too. But how could a princess ever love a slave?


**I normally don't get into, let alone write, AU/AH's, but when the plot bunny strikes, there's no escape.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own the Twilight series. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**By the way: **

**-Fourchettes is French for Forks**

**-The ****Fields of Asphodel is the place the Greek mythology says the ordinary person goes when they die. Tartarus is the Greek version of Hell. The Elysian Fields are where the heroes and especially virtuous go. The characters don't believe in the GREEK gods, but I needed names for places that people would hopefully remember from English class :-P.**

**-This takes place in "modern day" (i.e. television, electricity), but there are still knights, ladies-in-waiting, royalty… you get the idea.**

**--**

I Need You to Love Me

"Oh, thank you," the most wonderful person in the universe said sweetly as I bent down to pick up the dropped handkerchief and handed it to her.

"N-n-no p-p-p-prob-problem, h-highness" I stammered in return, bowing down further in reverence, and backing away.

She smiled her glorious smile at me for a blissful second before forgetting my miserable existence and turning back to Lady Alice of Agacant, her chief lady-in-waiting and best friend.

As I backed into my corner to wait for orders, my older brother Emmett smirked at me from his post a few feet away. "You're pathetic," he mouthed.

"No more than you," I mouthed in return. Although technically we were both slaves, Emmett had managed to catch the eye of Lady Rosalie of Maquillage, one Princess Isabella's many ladies-in-waiting. He knew he would never be able to marry someone as high as her, but he contented himself with being her lover and confidant.

I, however, knew that there was no hope of my love interest, the otherworldly Bella, ever having an interest in someone as low and ordinary as me. But that did not stop my utter infatuation with her.

Emmett rolled his eyes at me as Lady Alice and Bella finished up their tea party and we all hurried forward to move their chairs and see what else they could possibly need. As always, I rushed even faster than the others so that I could have the honor of pulling her chair out for her.

I was again rewarded with a quick smile as she stood and glided toward the door to the corridor. It was late at night, and soon we slaves would be released to our dormitories for the night. The ladies-in-waiting would help her undress.

As my princess glided into the bathroom pursued by her many ladies-in-waiting, four of us turned down the bed while others dusted the already immaculate room and closed the curtains on the many windows.

Exhausted, I was relieved when Lady Lauren stuck her head out the door of the bathroom, barking, "you may leave."

--

As Emmett and I walked down a corridor to our basement dormitory, Emmett decided to torment me further. "You really need to do something about that obsession of yours," he said with mock seriousness.

"What obsession?"

"With your 'love,' the 'almighty' Princess Bella."

"Dammit! I was talking in my sleep again wasn't I?" I groaned in frustration.

"Yep!"

I mentally berated myself further as I said, "why aren't you sleeping in Lady Rosalie's room tonight?" Anything to get him out of my hair….

"Rosie's ticked at me."

"What did you do this time?" don't ask, Edward. Don't ask.

"I made a joke—only a joke, mind you—about liking Lady Alice. She got really jealous. I'm sure she'll let me back in, in a night or two. I certainly hope so….

"Too much information, Em," I sighed.

"Well then, let's get back to you. You really need to do something about how much you want her." If it's not one thing, it's another….

"It's not that simple, Emmett. Not like with you and Lady Rosalie. She's the crown princess, for goodness' sake—ordained by the gods to rule over us all. She would never even agree to have me as a lover, never mind her husband. I'm a slave; that's all I'll ever be in life."

"But--"

"No buts, Emmett. She's the _crown princess_ of Fourchettes. I have no chance. On earth, I'm a slave; she's going to be queen when the Police Chief dies," the "Police Chief" was a common nickname for Bella's strict yet kind father, King Charles. In the afterlife, I'll go to theFields of Asphodel, if they don't stick me in Tartarus for daring to love someone so great. She'll go to the best part of the Elysian Fields, where she'll spend eternity eating strawberries and reading Shakespeare and Jane Austin."

"Poetic," Emmett commented, "but I doubt the gods will send you to Tartarus for falling in love."

I just studied the ground as we walked down yet another flight of stairs. Part of being a slave was having rooms at the farthest end of the universe.

"Ed-ward," he groaned. "If it can work for Rosie and me, you can make it work with your precious Bella. 'King Edward.' Kinda has a ring to it, don't ya think?"

"Shut up before someone hears you, moron."

"Seriously, bro!" He hesitated, "if you promise not to tell anyone, I'll tell you a secret."

"What?"

"Promise!"

"I solemnly swear not to tell anyone," I said sarcastically. "Happy?"

"Well…" He hesitated. "About a week ago I was talking to Rosie. She was talking about how Princess Isabella was, quote, 'chattering about how sweet and handsome that bronze-haired man is.' You're the only bronze-haired man around here. Maybe you do have a chance. Yo, Eddie, you still listening?"

I went off into my own very pleasurable world as soon as I realized she had noticed me—no, not just noticed, _appreciated_ me. I felt as if I was floating on clouds, or better yet, basking in her embrace.

"EDWARD!!"

"What?" his booming voice shocked me out of my fantasies and back into the cold reality around me. But now, it wasn't quite so cold.

"You're headed the wrong way. And you didn't pay attention to me!"

"Opps." I turned and headed into the correct entrance to our dormitory which we shared with four other slaves. "If-if she said I was handsome, do you think she might be in-interested in me?"

"I think so. Sometimes, when your back is turned, she watches you. Not obviously, but out of the corner of her eye. Once, I swear I heard her refer to someone named Edward. I could be wrong, though."

"What should I do, then?!"

"Well," he said, the gears in his brain ticking away, "I wouldn't go up to her and start kissing her, if that's what you're thinking. Maybe you could step up the quality of work you do for her—you know, offer to be one of the people who carry her stuff for her. You'll get to hand stuff to her that way, too. And maybe do some sweet stuff, like start leaving a flower on her pillow at night. She won't know who it's from, but it will get her to start paying attention. That kind of thing."

"Not bad, Emmett."

"Hey, even a blind squirrel gets a nut once in a while," he shrugged.

"You're not blind, just a little near-sighted." I smiled as I climbed onto my cot and closed my eyes to think of more things I could do.

By the time the other boys had gone to bed and turned off the lights a half hour later, I had a plan. I drifted off to sleep to dream of finally being able to be with the love of my existence.

--

The next day, I was even more attentive than usual. I was usually one of the first ones up and ready, but today I was dressed and headed towards the kitchens for rations before many of the others had so much as opened their eyes. Most of the kitchen staff wasn't even there yet.

A grumbling, sleepy-eyed assistant named Mike checked my number off on the ration sheet, and handed me my standard apple and crust of bread as I smiled and waved to my surprisingly wide awake father, Carlisle. Carlisle was a chef and also a doctor for those of us who could not afford a doctor who demanded pay.

"'Morning, Dad," I smiled as I walked back to the door to head upstairs and put my plan into action.

"Good morning, son," he said, before turning to his assistant Tyler and instructing him to start boiling the some potatoes for breakfast for King Charles, Queen Renée, Princess Isabella, and Sir Phillip of Guerre. Sir Phillip was the queen's latest lover.

I snuck away before he could ask any questions about the huge smile that refused to fade from my lips.

I ate my apple and gnawed on my hunk of bread as I headed up the many flights of stairs to Princess Bella's rooms.

Once there, I waited by the entrance for the ladies-in-waiting to open the locked door. When a sleepy Lady Angela did, two early risers and I went in to do any assigned tasks.

I busied myself around the edge of the bed, straightening this and adjusting that, as I tried to stay as close and noticeable (but not annoying) as possible. Soon, a tousle-haired Bella blinked sleepily and sat up to begin her day. As we all bowed down, she swung her dainty feet towards my side of the bed and slid down from the very high bed. As she stood, her feet swung out from her and, as if in slow motion, I ran forward and wrapped my arms around her to steady her.

For a blissful second, I reveled in her "embrace," before realizing exactly what I was doing: I a slave, was touching—no, _holding_-- the _princess_. I heard gasps from around us and I blushed and backed away quickly. "F-forgiveness h-h-highness?" I stuttered, eyes on the ground.

"N-no problem," she mumbled, blushing. "Thank you. The floor was slippery."

Shoot! "I-I'll g-g-go g-get a-a m-m-mop, h-h-high-highness." I ran backwards out of the room as fast as I could.

Double shoot! Not only had I failed to get the type of attention I wanted, I had been so careless as to leave the floor slippery! Well, Bella did have a habit of tripping and slipping on air….

I walked to the supply closet down the hall as slowly as I could, dreading returning before she went into her bathroom for her morning bath. Luckily, by the time I was forced to return, she had disappeared. I cleaned up the tiny sticky patch left by some solution the dusters had spilt last night. Darn them… then again, I had gotten to touch her….

--

I spent the rest of the day trying to gain her favor without drawing too much attention to myself. I also spent it trying to figure out to leave a flower on her pillow, like Emmett suggested. I wasn't allowed in the gardens, so I would have to sneak in and out each night-- I would have even more trouble explaining why I had twenty-odd flowers under my bed than I would explaining that I "just wanted to take a stroll in the garden before bed."

Then there was the problem of getting the flower into her bedroom without being seen.

Eventually I decided that I had a small window of opportunity between the time we were released for the night and the time the ladies-in-waiting got Bella out of her dress and into her nightclothes in the bathroom. It was a fifteen minute window if I was lucky.

When we were released for the night, I was careful to hang back behind the others, pretending to smooth the bed skirt until they were around the corner. Then, rushing, I ran towards the rose garden, which, luckily, was in a courtyard only a floor below. I eased around guards and servants, chuckling silently as Sir Samuel of Loup, the head of the palace guards, passed and jumped at a rustle I made hidden behind a tapestry. I got away easily.

I crept into the rose garden and picked a red rose whose petals were wide open. I quickly pulled off the thorns, not wanting poor Bella to hurt herself, and ran back inside. I set the rose down on a pillow and ran toward my dormitory as fast as I could.

Emmett gave me a quizzical look as I tried (and somewhat failed) to walk in calmly. I ignored him and lay down on my cot as Ben flipped the light switch.

So far so good.

--

I continued like this for almost two weeks. I was ecstatic when I saw my roses in a vase on the table next to her bed. She kept every single one. I quickly reached to help whenever she wanted something, was on my knees picking up anything she dropped practically before it hit the ground (she dropped _a lot_ of things), and was the first to race to get her any snack she wanted. I would have offered to be her footstool if I had gotten the opportunity.

But, one night, something went wrong.

I was rushing to the rose garden as usual when, oblivious, I ran into Sir Jasper of Lutte, Bella's personal guard, who was talking to a guard named Jacob.

"Slow down, boy," Jacob growled as Lady Alice's husband Jasper looked at me curiously.

"What are you doing? Slaves are not supposed to be in this area at this time of night?" Sir Jasper asked quietly.

"I-I'm on an errand for Princess Isabella." I improvised. "She wants me to hurry."

"Fine," Jacob barked. "Get going."

"Yes sirs." I mumbled, trying to walk more calmly. The exchange took only a few minutes, but I was being pressed for time.

I got tonight's rose, pulled off the thorns and raced back. I had to take an out-of-the-way route to avoid them on the way back. Dammit! I was in even more of a crunch now!

I had just placed the rose on the pillow when I heard the door to the bathroom start to open. Shoot! I had no time to get to the door, so I scurried under the bed. I just barely fit.

"Oooohh! Another rose!" Lady Alice squealed. "I wish Jazzy was that sweet—no, he just saves me from assassins. I want your guy!"

"I don't even know who sent it, Alice." Oh, speak again, sweet angel!

"Maybe…. No—it couldn't be…"

"What, Rosalie?"

"Well, Emmie was talking about his brother Edward the other day. It seems he might like you. I could be wrong. He was being kind of cryptic…." Damn you, Emmett!

"Edward is handsome, Rosalie, but I seriously doubt he would leave ro—what was that?" At the sound of my name on her lips, I had jumped, thumping my head on the underside of the bed loudly.

"It sounded like it came from under the bed." No it didn't!!

The bed skirt lifted up to reveal the stunning face of Princess Isabella. She looked me right in the eye before squealing and jumping back.

"Is there a spider? I hate spiders!" Lady Jessica asked timidly.

"A-a person."

Giving up, I detangled myself from the bed and crawled out. "F-f-f-for-forgiveness h-h-high-high-high-highness."

"Edward?" I got a thrill as she remembered my name. "Are you the one who has been leaving the roses?"

"Y-y-y-y-yes, p-p-princess." I stuttered. "I-I'm s-s-s-sor-sorry."

"Girls, would you mind leaving us for a moment, please." What was happening?

"Bella, it's not prop—"

"Go, Alice."

The women filed out the door into the corridor as Princess Isabella turned back to me. I just stared at the ground.

"Why? Why did you leave them?"

"I-I wanted y-you t-to n-n-notice m-m-me," way to be articulate, Edward!

"You like me, don't you, Edward?" She paused, a far-off look on her face, and then she grabbed my chin and forced me to look into her eyes. "That's why you're always so over-attentive, isn't it?"

"F-forgiveness, h-h-high-highness, b-but yes—"

My words were cut off as her mouth collided with mine and her arms flung around my neck. My eyes flew wide open in shock, then sank closed in pleasure. On their own accord, my arms wrapped themselves around her tiny waist.

"Wow," I breathed when she finally pulled away to breathe, leaning her forehead against mine.

"Yeah," she panted, dazzled. "By the way, I love you, too."

"You love me, too?" I was incredulous.

"Don't you love me? I-I thought, well, never mind…." she trailed off self-consciously.

"Of course I love you! I just thought you didn't even know who I was. I'm a slave. I don't matter."

"Of course you matter, and of course I love you! It's impossible not to love someone as sweet as you. And I know, given the chance, my love will grow even more with time." I looked into her eyes, trying to see any doubt or falsehood that could be present. There wasn't any.

"You're fated by the gods to rule, and I'm just a sla—"

She silenced me with another kiss before saying, "You're right: I _am_ 'fated' to rule. But, as the ruler, I get to make the rules, see. I Crown Princess Isabella of Fourchettes, rightful ruler of said country, declare that you may be with me." She was very formal saying this, before saying more softly, "I can give you a title if that would make you feel better, Edward. Lord Edward of Amoureux kind of has a ring to it, right?"

"If I get to be with you, I'll be the lord of the privy." She giggled and stretched up to kiss me passionately yet again.

--

_**Two and a half years later**_

"Momma! Momma!" little Renesmee tripped into the salon, her long bronze curls flying behind her like a cloak.

"What do you need, sweetheart?" the sweetest wife imaginable cooed, looking down at her from my lap.

"I need playmate for house time," she squeaked, clutching the little wolf doll in her arms tighter.

"Well, Momma and Daddy are really busy. Maybe-- Jacob, come here." She called the closest guard over. "You're new duty is to play with Nessie."

"Yes, highness," Jacob bowed.

"First me marry you, 'Acob." Nessie squealed, and pulled him off toward the toy chest in the corner, where she forced him to put on a too small tie and an old fashioned groom's hat. She put her play veil on and had him tie some string around their fingers like wedding rings.

I turned away from the ridiculous spectacle and back to my beautiful, precious wife. Rubbing her arm suggestively, I said, "she's good for a half hour or so. You want to go back to bed?"

"Mmm," she purred, standing up and pulling my more than eager body off towards our bedroom. Man, do I love this woman!

**I have a strange fetish for a slave/servant Edward, so sorry if he's more submissive than in the books. I just like a man who cares more about the love of his life than his pride.**

**Please, I hate to beg for reviews, but I NEED to know what people really think of this, so please tell me. Please?!**

**June**


End file.
